Conventionally, newspapers have been important prints for providing news on social events. In 2007, the newspaper circulation in Japan was about 50,000,000 per day. For newspapers in Japan, about 3,700,000 tons/year of paper has been used, and about 70 kg/year of paper has been consumed by one household.
In recent years, every papermaker has developed technology for recycling waste newspaper and reducing the weight of newspaper in order to produce eco-friendly paper in view of resource environment. In addition, newspaper collected by waste paper recyclers is turned into recycled paper pulp, and newsprint contains about 60 to 80% recycled paper.
On the other hand, the newsprint weight has been reduced, and it is currently 43 g/m2. Recycled paper pulp includes dark, low-quality recycled paper pulp produced without removal of printed ink, which is used as a raw material for boards and corrugated boards; and pulp produced through removal of printed ink (internationally called deinked pulp (DIP)), which is used as a raw material for paper required to have whiteness, such as printing paper and toilet paper.
Recycled newsprint fibers still containing ink oil are also used as a raw material for bathroom or facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, and other products, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1.